The Tao of Badass Review – How To Be A Badass, Zen-Style

The Tao of Badass makes its intentions very clear from the outset with a byline that boasts: “Everything You Have To Know To Be A Complete Badass With Women”. It boldly states that every guy can be a badass with women.

According to this Tao, it is a power that is innate in all men. All men can be a Lothario, a Casanova, a total player – the trick is in unlocking that power. Put together by a self-ascribed women magnet guru, Joshua Pellicer, it’s a comprehensive how-to on getting women with as much ease as possible.

But The Tao of Badass goes even further, by boasting that it will help you to understand and influence “social dynamics”. This should result in better business opportunities and maximizing of all your relationships, romantic or otherwise.

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Is there any validity to these daring claims? Or are these claims too brash, even bogus? This Tao of Badass review will offer our opinion on just that.

Summary:

The Tao of Badass is training for any guy wanting to get a girl, whether to date, marry or even just have a good ol’ romp with. It’s name, byline and some of its claims are certainly strident, even macho. But, paradoxically, this is not just a gung-ho step-by-step guide on how to get laid.

Rather, think of The Tao of Badass more as a type of philosophy rather than a rock-solid ‘strategy’. Although some of its theories on the genders and relationships is dated and not particularly new, at least The Tao of Badass tries to offer a way for guys to feel better about themselves which should, theoretically, mean more confidence, whether it be dating or any social situation.

It aims to achieve this by means of self-confidence that is built up on a daily basis, along with a better understanding about the way gender roles have shifted and how, in turn, that shift has changed how different men interact with different women. All of that is fair enough.

However, where The Tao of Badass falters is on failing to have a clear focus and, therefore, a clear-cut philosophy. There is too much information which meanders along without true purpose or vision. There is not even a mantra to go along with this Tao, which seems a pity.

The Tao of Badass has promise, and could not be considered entirely bogus or wishful-thinking. But it lacks too much, not helped by a visual interface that is mostly uninspired. There is simply not enough true methodology to Joshua Pellicer’s method, which is why this comes off as a missed opportunity.

The Tao of Badass Full Review

The Lowdown…

The first step in your badass education is its PDF. It’s 150 pages long and it’s not even double-spaced, so it’s quite a read. One of its earliest statements, highlighted in large font on page 5 of the PDF is that “Humans are intention-fulfilling machines”. Nothing like making a guy feel like a robot to get him motivated, I guess.

It’s clear that The Tao of Badass shoots from the hip, and it shoots at random. The Badass technique can be used by any guy, whether he wants to fall in love with a girl, even marry the girl, or just get down and dirty with as many girls as possible. The Tao will allow any of it, for any guy.

But, as said in the introduction, the Tao of Badass goes even further when it states that, “Maybe you simply want to learn how to relate to people more effectively”. Hell, who wouldn’t want that, right? It seems a strange dichotomy, this Tao, in that it aims for the guys who want to strut around and shoot for the moon, but also the shy guys who basically just want to get along and get noticed.

Can The Tao of Badass do both? I’m not sure. I think it actually works better for the shy guys…

Chapter 2 in the PDF is “Gender Roles,” and, to his credit, Joshua does acknowledge that women have gained an upper hand (or at least become more equal to men) in recent times. That means a significant shift in the dynamics between men and women. Fair comment.

It’s also asserted that some men play the ‘female gender role’, whilst others play the ‘male gender role’, and that female opposites will be attracted as a result. This is the result of gender shifts. That is why today the male role is that of ‘social provider’ and ‘social protector’.

I don’t quite get how that men in that ‘social protection’ role would differ today to, say, men of thirty years ago or even the bewigged and perfumed men of the 18th century. Surely the whole ‘ hunter-gatherer’ thing ceased some millennia ago? Yet that rather tired psychology raises its head yet again.

In Chapter 3 the leading question is: “If pop culture teaches us anything, it’s that every woman isunique, complex, and complicated. How is it possible to create one system that will give you the power to attract all of them?” It’s all about confidence, acting like a leader and being decisive. Nothing very new there, methinks.

In a nutshell: The big emphasis for most of the PDF (and, hence, for most of this training) is on self-confidence and self-belief. And The Tao of Badass tells us that self-confidence can be learned by means of constant reiteration of certain phrases and ways of thinking on a daily basis.

The effect is of a mantra…of sorts. I say of sorts, because there’s no Buddhist-type nam myoho renge kyo chant here. But the influence is certainly Eastern, hence the appropriateness of Tao in name of this training. After all, the Tao is traditionally symbolized by the yin and the yang, the masculine and the feminine. Again, this seems apt enough here.

There is some really dubious social anthropology on display here, which includes a rather icky analogy about panhandlers. Basically, we’re told that panhandlers in Canada can earn $400-800 per day simply begging, which amounts to $60 000 a year. Really?! Jeez, time for me to emigrate to Canada and hit the streets…

Then it goes on to make the profound observation that, “The reason we’re not all takin’ to the streets Doobie Brothers-style is that you have no social value when you panhandle”. Uh-kay…Yeah, it flew over my head as well. Why Canada? And why the Doobie Brothers?! Talk about bad taste.

Some more on it…

Besides the PDF, Joshua also offers some video clips of him basically chatting away about different aspects of his world according to Tao. This is a screenshot of him chatting about how to ‘Demonstrate Value’, which is mostly tips about different types of banter (vacuous chit chat) that a guy can use on a woman:

My personal favourite is a video where Joshua basically gives suggestions on how to walk in a ‘badass way’. Yip, it’s ‘The Badass Walk’. I didn’t quite get how his badass walk is different to a guy sauntering along, but, hey, maybe it’s subliminal…or subtle…or something like that.

Provided here is a screenshot of Joshua (kinda) confidently sashaying…ahem, walking…in his badass way on Venice Beach in Los Angeles:

Other video clips include those on how to “Escalate Sexually”, which is really a high school guide on how to score some heavy petting with your girl, and something called “Demonstrate Value,” which was found to be confusing and confused.

Other PDFs on offer included “Banter Lines” (some good, some quite lame), the “Attraction Flowchart” (which I couldn’t get to download properly for the life of me) and “Badass Texting” (which was really lame).

Extras?

Joshua does offer coaching in the form of a questionnaire to be filled out on the site and mailed to him. I could not ascertain the exact cost of this coaching.The full extent of what this coaching will entail or seeks to achieve is also not detailed, which seemed strange.

To his credit, on the same page are screenshots of testimonials from guys from the private Facebook Tao Alumni group who appear to be using the Tao of Badass and rave about it. The testimonials could be absolutely bogus, of course, but the benefit of the doubt is given here.

Bonuses on the immediate menu, including a “Body Language Mastery” course divided into five categories, all seem to be freely available and at no extra cost.

The Resources Page has a huge amount of additional links, articles and other sources of information. And by huge amount, I mean a HUGE amount! Most of what I clicked on was freely available, and included more video clips. Some of the links did strongly suggest ‘clickbait!’ and probably cost a nice mint.

However, I really would not see the need (or point) of having to spend extra money on any dubious-sounding ‘extras’ on this site for one very simple reason: there is already so much available, and freely. And that is to the credit of the Tao of Badass site.

And what about this Joshua Pellicer guy?

The Tao of Badass is all about Joshua Pellicer. Joshua’s resume is quite something. According to him he’s “spent years and years studying psychology, relationships, and attraction, and [he has] worked as a professional dating coach, a social dynamics and charisma instructor, and a body language expert”.

He also states how he has trained with Wyatt Woodsmall, a neurolinguistic programming and motivational speaking expert, as well as the first generation of Dale Carnegie instructors, not to mention a long-time mentor of Anthony Robbins.

Yip, motivational behemoth Anthony Robbins has Joshua as a mentor. Well, that’s what I read in the PDF!

Joshua definitely has a presence online, with various clips on Youtube, and quite a few links to him in Google search. He has his own website, which, to be truthful, is rather scant, and, like his Tao website, is not exactly award-winning on the style and design front. His bio on his website is also oddly rambling and ill-structured.

What’s a bit mystifying is that nowhere on the Tao or his own sites are there any references as to what universities he attended, what exactly his studies encompassed, nor any psychology-related studies or papers he may have written. At least my searches didn’t easily find that information.

He does seem to be prolific and have written a lot of other manuals and how-to stuff, and has apparently been somehow linked to the likes of The Today Show, The NY Press, The NY Times, The NY Daily News, and even Saturday Night Live.

And how does it look and feel?

It really doesn’t look that great, to be honest. I mean this is hardly the most exciting landing page once you’ve logged in:

I think the logo for The Tao of Badass is genuinely badass. It looks the part, and kudos for that from a graphics perspective. However, the general look of the various pages for The Tao of Badass is not that inspired. It has a tired, limp look.

The overall uninspired graphics and look of the site (logo aside) includes its video clips, some of which are really jumpy and downright amateurish.

And what the hell is it with the colour scheme for these dating sites aimed at men? It’s the second time now in less than week that I am reviewing a dating/how-to-bag-a-hot-chick site for guys with the exact same colour scheme: black, red, white and grey (silver).

Are these exact colours for these training sites a universal truth for which I somehow didn’t get the memo??

What’s To Like About The Tao of Badass?

It’s a great name. Let’s face it: The Tao of Badass is one heck of a terrific name for a site, especially one aimed at guys wanting to adopt new ways of becoming more ‘manly’ and getting their girls! It’s a beautiful blend of zen-like mysticism (Tao) and tough attitude (Badass). I dig it, Joshua

The Eastern-inspired discussion and pointers regarding self-confidence and self-belief are actually quite beguiling and convincingly written, even if not as part of a more concrete philosophy

At its core is a very decent (in all senses of the word) worldview and philosophy regarding guys trying to get girls. It’s not overtly crass in an annoying, infantile fratboy sort of way, like other dating guides of a similar ilk. And that is commendable

It just doesn’t feel ‘scammy’. Most of the links to more information, including video clips, and there are many, are free. The site is not burdened by the usual suspect clickbait links and ‘now or never’ screaming banners one sees on so many other sites like this.

What’s Not To Like About The Tao of Badass?

It’s simply too meandering. Its core may be decent, as noted above, but it’s lost in a morass of muddled information, and even, dare I say it, too much information. Even the supplementary information (much of it complementary) shoots every which way

And, yes, there really is too much information here. It could have been leaner (without being meaner) and packed a far heftier punch if the content were better edited. It’s all over the place. The philosophy behind this Tao needed to be more structured and more focused. In that way, The Tao of Badass feels like a missed opportunity, which is a pity

The look and feel of the site and, especially, its videos and some of its PDFs is simply too amateurish. All that effort with a punchy logo and title, and yet the content is visually unappealing. It somehow cheapens the effect and, by association, the very message

I think there just may be a disconnect between the name and claims of this site versus what it’s actually all about. The name, The Tao of Badass, is all strutting and macho, as is its byline. But when you look at most of the content it takes a more measured, even cerebral stance on dating and relationships. Attempts at how to ‘badass walk’ and crass texting tips somehow come off contrived as a result. It’s odd that way.

Conclusion

There’s an ambivalence to what The Tao of Badass offers. On the one hand is a self-styled guru who does seem to know his stuff and has clearly done a lot of work on the whole schpiel of guys trying to get girls. His credentials do seem to be difficult to verify, which is a concern. But there is meat to what is on offer, which is to the training’s credit.

On the other hand, the message comes across jumbled at times and weighed down by too much unstructured and meandering content, most of it in a somewhat uninspiring PDF. The look and feel of the site and its content, video clips included, are not as polished and professional as the terrific, badass name and logo promise. That is a letdown.

Can the training known as The Tao of Badass work? Possibly – for those guys who are not that familiar with basic Eastern principles and philosophies about life, self-confidence and self-belief.

For the rest, this training doesn’t really seem to offer enough depth or convincing orthodoxy regarding the yin and yang of dating, relationships or even just getting a woman.